Rye seeks trip to LL regionals

Friday

Jul 19, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By DAN DOYONPortsmouth Herald

RYE — The Rye Little League 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars had one mission when practices started last month. Now, after blazing through the District II tournament, they have only one more hurdle in front of them.

Rye (10-0) looks to keep its magical summer rolling this weekend when it plays District I champion Salem in the best-of-three state finals at Manchester Central Little League’s Harris Field.

The first game is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m., while Game 2 is Sunday (5 p.m.). The third game, if necessary, is slated for Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. The New Hampshire state champion advances to the Northeast Regional in Bristol, Conn., beginning Aug. 2.

“These boys were determined from the first day to win a state championship,” Rye coach Ron King said. “They’ve all worked very hard and want to reach that goal.”

Rye went 8-0 in round-robin play before defeating Somersworth, 14-4, in last Saturday’s District II semifinals. Max Malila pitched a complete game and homered twice in Rye’s 12-2 victory over Lamprey River in Sunday’s district championship game — one year after Rye lost to Lamprey River in the title game.

This is Rye’s first District II championship team since 2005. The program’s only state title came in 2003.

Salem (6-1) won its first five games of the District I double-elimination tournament before losing to Bedford, 19-1, in the first game of the championship round.

Nick Robertson hit a grand slam to give Salem a 6-5 lead in the third inning of Game 2, and Matt Olivo won it with a two-run, walk-off home run in the sixth for a 9-7 victory.

“The 19-1 game was just one of those games,” Salem coach Dean Borrelli said. “They got down in the second game but never changed their approach. They could’ve easily given up, but they showed how tough they were.”

“Salem is a big team and they’re going to be hard to beat,” King said. “They’ve also got a lot of speed. It’s going to be two well-matched teams.”

Rye powered its way through the District II tournament, piling up 21 home runs and an average of nearly 12 runs per game.

Olivo, Jake Delaney and Matt Soldano are Salem’s top three pitchers. Robertson and Mike Borrelli have been Salem’s top hitters.

“They’ve done very well so far,” Dean Borrelli said. “They’ve battled through some tough situations and they’re ready to go.”

Malila, the No. 2 hitter, leads Rye with seven home runs and a .615 batting average. Cleanup hitter Dylan Chase (.438) is second on the team with five home runs, while No. 3 batter Dylan King (.525) has four homers. Leadoff hitter Tripp Hindle is batting .551, and Johnathan Swenson rounds out the top five in the order with a .424 average.

“We’ve got a complete lineup; everyone is contributing at the plate,” Ron King said. “It helps when your offense can put up runs in spurts.”

Malila, the staff ace, shut down Lamprey River after it scored two runs in the first inning on Sunday. With Chase, Dylan King, Hindle and Swenson also capable on the mound, Ron King feels he has the horses to pitch through the series.

“We’ve got a lot of pitching depth,” Ron King said. “They’ve all pitched well this season and are ready for the pressure.”

“Our approach to every game has been great, and we’ve got a lot of confidence,” Dean Borrelli said. “But we know we’ve got a tough one in front of us.”

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